The Slow Lift
by Tess 4 5
Summary: A short one shot. The ground floor of a hospital. Just some moments in the middle of a case. Now with a few more moments.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the original characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC. I have borrowed the characters from the TV-Show and only own the ideas of _my _stories.

Please write a **P**rivate** M**essage if you find any mistakes. Thanks!

Please read and review! More thanks!

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**Author's notes:** Someone forced me to post something. So I've written down this idea. Very quickly. It's a short one shot with the hint of another chapter lurking in the back of my brain *winks*

**Summary:** The ground floor of a hospital. Just some moments in the middle of a case. Enjoy...

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**The Slow Lift**

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"And then, the nurse said, he just went out of the room." she explained what she just had learned from said nurse, who was cared for in one of the treatment rooms after her statement. "And she just was able to sit there and watch him leaving."

He groaned in annoyance.

DS Barbara Havers and DI Tommy Lynley had wanted to pay a visit to the injured witness of a crime. They already had suspected that there was more to this man but they just could not name it. He had acted a tad too nervous. And now that suspect, guarded for his own safety but confined to his bed anyway by nasty wounds at his leg and hip, was able to escape. He had briefly paralysed the nurse somehow, tied her to a chair and gagged her, put on a white coat and, obviously a doctor being busy with a clipboard, went past the guard unstopped. Now the nurse was a bit dizzy and in shock but otherwise unharmed.

"Stupid officer! I'm going to take him to task later." the DI grumbled. "First we have to get Miller back into his bed."

"And tie him up this time."

They stood in a ground floor corridor of the hospital near the A&E and had to find a loose end to pick at and start finding their suspect. Looking up and down the corridor Lynley raked a hand through his hair. It made his Sergeant smile. She loved that habit of his. Her hands were stuffed into the pockets of her coat though. She did not give in to help him ruffling his hairdo.

"We should start at the beginning, Sir." Barbara said. "It has happened on the rooftop platform. Miller said he saw someone arguing with the victim. Given that he did not lie to us. Then he had watched the beautiful view of the city roofs and when he looked again they were fighting and the other man pushed the woman over the railing."

"Lafferty said that the cause of death wasn't the plunge of two metres but there was a little injection wound at her wrist. Together with some scratches. He's still checking the tox results." Lynley pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Is SOCO still up there?"

"No, they're gone."

"Did they find a syringe?"

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Rumbling and fast feet were heard.

"Step aside!" someone calls out to them. "We're pregnant!"

An unusually happy emergency doctor was pushing a bed on wheels towards them. A very pregnant, very loudly groaning woman was in it, a very flustered father accompanied them and two other busy people in white.

Barbara was the first to react because she had seen them coming out of the corner of her eye. Putting her flat hand onto his chest she pushed Lynley backwards between the doorframe to a room. She quickly withdrew her hand but to give the urgent transport all the space they needed she got as close to Tommy's chest as she could without pressing him against the door. The well known scent of her boss tickled her nostrils and she was tempted to make another step forward.

"Unfortunately not." Apparently unfazed by the commotion Lynley said looking down to her. He was surprised. It was not the doctors and the woman in her bed but Barbara's quite intimate gesture came a bit out of the blue.

Their eyes were locked immediately and his deep looks gave Barbara the shivers. Still she answered as if their conversation had not been interrupted. "Then it's still there. I guess."

Tommy's face widened into a smile. He had recognised the little quiver in her voice and the brief narrowing of her eyes.

The pregnant woman in her bed had passed them quickly and suddenly the door handle behind Tommy's back went down. To get out of the way of whoever would come out there he moved forward. Barbara now had to step backwards.

"Miller might have seen it." He continued their conversation.

Barbara was surprised that Tommy still moved on across the corridor. Nonetheless she took up his mind game. "And is involved and knows what was in it." Her voice was a bit shaky and she hoped he would not get the idea that she was nervous because of his proximity. They were way out of reach of the door on the other side.

"I don't believe that SOCO would have left it for him."

"He doesn't know that we have checked the rooftop." Barbara's back hit the wall. Her mind was playing tricks on her so she covered up a moan with a brief cough.

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Only now Tommy stopped moving forward. He looked down to her with his fond smile and the soft expression in his eyes. "So I guess we have to get up there to find him."

"Or the syringe."

Tommy's hand went to her elbow as if he was about to guide her to the lifts but neither of them made a move to leave. He even dared to get another bis closer. Barbara's knees went weak when he slightly bent down to her. With a conspiratorial voice he suggested to have a coffee. "There's that little refreshment stall on the platform."

"Yes." She snorted a short nervous laugh and raised her chin, half rebellious, half as if she was expecting a kiss. "And it's closed of course. Everything up there is cordoned off."

It would be the easiest thing to just close the last inches between them, Tommy realised. His eyes darted to her lips and back to her eyes again which looked greener than ever. "What a pity." he hoarsely muttered. "Will we have a cuppa after work?"

"There's a new coffee bar at the end of... what's that street?" Barbara quietly suggested. How she managed to get her hands out of the pockets of her coat was a miracle she did not even try to decipher. Now she let them hover in the air as if she was going to grab his waist. "Where The Old Maiden was." She blushed a bit. "You know, the quirky pub."

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Suddenly there was silence. It was as if the hospital had switched off every life saving machine and every air condition. No beeping sounds were heard and no puffs of artificial lungs. The speakers were silent and every rustling white coat has vanished. There were no more moans or cries, no muffled conversations, no telephones ringing, no doors slamming, no wheelies squeaking, no urgent calls and no sirens.

It was a sphere of calmness around them as if they were absolutely alone in the huge building. It was just the two of them standing close to each other. Palpable warmth was radiating between them. Her back was touching against the wall and she looked up to Tommy, saw his dilating pupils which turned his brown orbs almost black. He was slightly bent forward and looked down to Barbara, saw the pleased surprise in the green sparkling depth of her eyes.

Barbara saw his chest heaving steadily. His face was so close to hers now so she could feel a hint of his breath on her skin. Her mind was running on overdrive but there were no coherent thoughts. And nothing about their crime at all. Just the man in front of her. Involuntarily she opened her lips.

Involuntarily Tommy swallowed. He still was holding her elbow but he did not know that he was gently stroking her arm. In fact he did not know what he was doing here at all and why he was not simply closing the gap between them. Something which was overdue to his liking. Something Barbara apparently was not objecting to. At least if he was reading the signs correctly. "Yes, let's go there... later."

A long second stretched with them silently looking into each other's eyes. Hers were slowly widening. His were still getting darker.

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"Someone's seen 'im runnin' up the stairs!" DC Nkata's voice was heard from the end of the corridor. Barbara exhaled the breath she had been holding. "I'll take the fast lift. Get goin'!"

"Yes! We're on our way, Winston." Lynley answered loudly without looking away from Barbara's longing gaze. Addressed to Barbara his voice became quieter. "Let's take the slow lift, Barbara."

"Okay." Barbara croaked. Her voice was gone. She had seen desire burning in Tommy's eyes and it was pleasantly confusing.

She withdrew her hands to herself and together they turned towards the row of lifts. Tommy let his hand slide down from her elbow. He gently touched the small of her back when he made her lead the way. Barbara felt it burning in her back in the most wonderful way. The indecent thoughts that were still running through her mind made her blush.

She could not see that his hand was trembling slightly. For the fragment of a moment he almost had forgotten himself and now he was angry with himself that he had not given in.

"The slow one will bring us there, too." he murmured behind her.

"Mhmm." she answered quietly without turning backwards.

But Tommy clearly could see the deep rosy touch that was creeping all the way across Barbara's neck. It made him keep that certain smile on his face.

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**./...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** We all knew it would go on ;-) So here's the second part. Oh, and sorry that I got carried away at some point but I felt so lifted...

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When DI Lynley and DS Havers arrived at the row of lifts Winston already was gone. He had taken the new and faster lift in the modern part of the hospital complex that was joined to the old building here where the lifts were. Of course these two new lifts were strictly for doctors and cases of life-threatening urgency so the two detectives stepped into one of the older lifts. Even if there would be some stops it would be faster than taking the stairs. They pushed the button with the 12.

An elderly couple who was holding hands joined them. They nodded politely and stood near the entrance. Barbara turned towards Tommy to continue their conversation.

"Aren't there wooden planks?" she said with a hushed voice. "The syringe could have dropped in between."

The doors were closing.

"SOCO would have-" Lynley began but stopped confused and let out a quiet sigh of annoyance.

The doors were sliding open again. The old lady had pushed the button to re-open the doors and let a mob of children join them in the lift. One of them was sitting in a colourfully decorated wheelchair, pushed by the tallest child. They were giggling and laughing loudly and were accompanied by two adults with a wrapped gift and a bunch of balloons in their hands. They all seemed to have a lot of fun.

Barbara made a tiny step towards Tommy to give the newly arriving people more space. She only slightly turned her head to see them but she did not see the wheelchair coming. It bumped into the back of her legs and the children immediately apologised. Nonetheless she lost her balance and stumbled forward into Tommy's chest. Reflexively his arms went around her.

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For a brief moment they looked at each other with wide shocked eyes. Then his face lit up with a triumphant grin. There was very few space in the lift but actually no real need to stand so closely pressed together. Still he kept his arms around her and even increased the firmness of his hold. Only a short inner debate later Barbara refrained from protesting. More so, she even grinned while her arms sneaked around his waist and her forehead bumped into his chest. With all those children it had become jammed anyway, she told herself.

"No bother." Tommy said to the boy who had apologised but the boy was in a conversation with his friend already. Tommy caught the eyes of one of the accompanying adults and they nodded at each other with a smile.

Tommy was leaning against the back wall of the cabin with Barbara in his arms which was wonderful. To calm down his nerves he let his eyes wander around. The lift was jammed, of that there was no doubt. The old man had put his arm around the old woman. The two adults had linked their arms. Only the children did not care that there was limited space. They nudged each other under laughs and jostled around playfully, not bothering that they bumped into the adult people from time to time. They obviously had a lot of fun together.

Barbara did not see much from all this. She enjoyed the embrace. She even cuddled closer against him after a while. The case was far away and she could not care less. She was indifferent to what happened in her back. The turmoil was loud but she only heard it muffled.

She barely recognised that the lift stopped on the third floor to let out the elder couple and take in a person in scrubs before it went higher.

The male nurse had pushed the 8 on the panel of buttons and for a short moment Tommy wondered if they would ever reach the top of the building. He was not unhappy that they had decided to keep the second of the new lifts clear for emergencies, as it was designated for. This way he had all the time to stand hugging his beloved Sergeant but they should arrive up there eventually and support Nkata. And they should find their witness soon.

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Standing here with Barbara like this, somewhere deep inside he did not care about the rest of the world. His arms went further around her body.

Barbara turned her head and with her right ear on Tommy's chest she could hear his heart beat. It went surprisingly fast. She closed her eyes. A lot of thoughts were running through her head. Thoughts of disbelief and optimism and even a few other rather unseemly ideas.

On the 6th floor the children were shooed out of the lift by their adults. Tommy watched them leaving and smiled after them but the male nurse's curious look towards the hugging couple slipped his attention completely.

On the 7th floor the lift stopped again. The male nurse prepared to leave. With a look at the row of buttons where the 12 was alight he turned back.

"Excuse me, but do you really want to go to 12?" he asked and Tommy lifted his head quizzically. "I'm just asking because there's just some engineering and..."

"We're going to the rooftop platform." Lynley explained quickly.

"Oh, you couldn't go there." the nurse replied. "An... umm... incident has happened and the platform is cordoned off. Only the police-"

Smiling politely Tommy cut him short. "We _are_ the police, if you don't mind."

"Ooo-kay..." It was obvious that the man did not believe him at all but he left the lift anyway, muttering "Well, good luck then."

The doors of the lift closed.

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"He doesn't believe you." Barbara murmured and dared to lift her head searching for his eyes.

Although they were alone now and there was more than enough space the kept standing in their pleasant embrace.

"I can't blame him." Fondly, Tommy smiled down to her. "I wouldn't believe me either. I don't think any decent Inspector would cuddle his Sergeant in public."

"So you think of yourself as indecent?" Barbara's voice was a bit shaky. She felt very indecent too at the moment. And there were still 4 floors to go. Enough time to hold him and still not enough time, for her liking.

After one deep breath Tommy whispered. "Very much so."

For a few seconds they held their gaze. The sound of the lift faded and the walls vanished.

Barbara raised herself, her entire body still pressed against his front. Oblivious to how deliciously it appeared her eyes darted to his lips. She could not hide how hungry she looked and did not even know it.

"Barbara..." Tommy murmured longingly. He slowly bent his head down.

There was only an inch between their faces when they stopped moving. Barbara closed her eyes and expected to feel his lips on hers. She had given in to her desires and tore down the walls built of restriction, decency and objections.

"Barbara..." Tommy whispered again and she could feel the warmth of his words on her skin again. He felt the reflection from her face and sighed.

"Yes, Tommy." she breathed.

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It was the voiced affirmation of what he saw. Tommy closed the last distance and met her soft lips. Immediately Barbara responded with a soft pressure before she stood on tiptoes to allow their kiss to turn deeper. With his lips he gently manoevered hers open. A wet move closed them again. Barbara sighed and willingly opened her mouth to welcome his tongue. For the time the lift needed to pass two floors they playfully fought for dominance none of them really wanted. They indulged in what had been forbidden too long and now was bubbling to the surface.

Tommy was overwhelmed by the woman in his arms. He had wanted this for so long and never dared to sneak a peek to what was behind her wall of defence. And now this wall seemed to not have existed at all.

Barbara wanted more. In fact she wanted not just the kiss but the complete Tommy. She pressed herself against his body and felt his hands moving towards the lower parts of her backside. Her hands tightened their grip on his waist and she moaned into his open mouth.

It stoke up the fire that was burning inside Tommy. He pulled her flush against his front and let his tongue dive deep into her mouth.

In that moment the lift came to a halt.

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Although his tongue retreated it gave her an almost overpowering feeling of zero gravity. The doors slid open on the 12th floor and Tommy let go of her lips reluctantly. Barbara felt pleasantly smashed.

"It seems we're finally there." Tommy muttered with a loving smile. He did not mean the arrival on the top floor.

"Obviously, yes." Barbara breathed. She was heavily blushing. A cautious smile crept into her face.

Tommy sighed deeply. His only wish was to close the doors, push the emergency halt button and stay in here with Barbara for a few intense moments longer but unfortunately there was something related to their work as Detectives that required their full attention. "Come on, Sergeant. Let's see if Winston has learned anything. And before- Oi!" He pushed Barbara to the side and made a quick stride forward to keep the door from closing. Holding it open he laughed apologising. "Before that door closes."

Barbara went past him with wobbly legs, a huge blush in her face and a widening smile on her lips. "Thank you." she breathed.

"Oh, believe me - I'm going to repeat this after work." Tommy took her arm and stopped her. Quickly he bent down and stole another brief kiss from Barbara's welcoming lips. She was not looking as if she wanted to get back into reality either.

But it was pointless to stall for time now. She sighed and he squeazed his hand one last time before they climbed the remaining two stairs towards the platform. The officer who had been positioned at the exit door held up the white and blue police line and was rewarded with a thankful smile from both.

"Ah, there you are!" Nkata's cheery voice greeted them outside. He stood next to the closed refreshment stall. Their suspect was sitting on a metal box with a painful face and his hands cuffed behind his back. "Miller defeated our SOCO team. This metal box-" He kicked against it and it sounded hollow. Something rattled. "-has a loose panel where our murderer has hidden this here." Winston waved a small rucksack.

"Good work, Winston." Tommy praised the Constable.

"I've already called SOCO to return and get it checked." Suddenly confused, Winston cocked his head with a laugh. "Really. You both should have more workouts and less pints after work. You're quite breathless after these few steps."

"That's a brilliant idea, Constable." Tommy said laughing loudly and slapping a friendly hand onto Winston's back. "I think we should begin straight after today's paperwork. Or earlier, if you lift that task from our shoulders, hm?"

He winked and Winston understood that it was the subtle request that he should accept this light punishment for the cheeky suggestion towards his superiors. The men grinned at each other.

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What they did not see was the deep blush that had returned to Barbara's face. She was bending down to the loose panel to carefully examine it further. Her lips still felt swollen from the intense kiss she just had exchanged with Tommy.

And she looked forward to their workouts later.

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**FIN**


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